‘Tell Me What You Need’: Wiretaps Caught Alleged Toronto Mafia Boss Speaking With Property Developers

‘Both Deals $30 Million’

Angelo Figliomeni moved to Canada in the early 2000s from Calabria, in Italy’s far south, where the ’Ndrangheta grew from a kidnapping gang into a major global criminal organization involved in drug trafficking, extortion and murder.

He had been convicted on weapons charges at home, and still faces charges in Italy, where court documents show he was wanted for “mafia association.” In the Greater Toronto Area, police have alleged that he and his associates have engaged in illegal gambling, loan sharking and instigating gang violence.

OCCRP and the Star reported in April that a Canadian police investigation alleged the group was using insiders at major Canadian banks to launder criminal money, although charges were never proven in court. 

The developer Figliomeni was strategizing with on the July 2019 call was identified in police files only as “Danny LNU.” Reporters traced the phone number listed in the files to Danny Di Meo, owner of the prominent Vaughan real estate developer Caliber Homes, which describes its housing projects as places where “luxury meets convenience.”

During the call with Figliomeni, “Danny LNU” mentioned a company referred to as “Cal-Queen,” according to the police summary of the wiretap. Di Meo owns a company called Cal-Queen West Developments Inc., which has made zoning applications in the Toronto-area city of Brampton, public records show. 

At one point in the call summarized by police, Figliomeni said that would-be buyers wanted to purchase land in Brampton, but might only buy a second plot in Richmond Hill at a later date. Referring to an unknown third party, the police synopsis quotes “Danny LNU” as telling Figliomeni: “You gotta make sure he buys Richmond Hill too … that was the deal, both deals $30 million, it was both.”

In an email, John Chapman, a lawyer representing Di Meo, emphasized that the synopsis of the conversation was not a full transcript, and said it was “not possible to determine the accuracy” of the synopsis that reporters obtained from court files. However, he said it related to “an ordinary course conversation on a real estate transaction between 4 and 6 years ago.”

A group of investors had paid a deposit to purchase some real estate but had breached the agreement, Chapman said. Di Meo knew Figliomeni was an acquaintance of one of the investors, and “the discussion related to the vendor exercising its legal right to forfeit that deposit.”

The court files obtained by reporters show that Caliber Homes’ office was searched by police during the Sindacato investigation, although neither Di Meo nor any of his employees were charged.

In a statement provided by his lawyer, Di Meo said Caliber Homes had “rigorous compliance measures in place to ensure that all our operations adhere to ethical business practices.”

“In July 2019, the Caliber Homes’ corporate office was one of dozens of business locations in the GTA [Greater Toronto Area] that was searched as part of a broad, inter-agency investigation,” Di Meo said. “Neither Caliber Homes nor any of our employees were targets of this investigation and Caliber Homes cooperated fully in ensuring authorities received all records that were sought.”

A person close to the case said DiMeo was questioned on why a numbered company owned by Figliomeni and his close associate, Vito Sili, allegedly sent CA$460,000 (US$349,000) to Cal-Queen West Developments Inc. in October 2016. (Sili did not respond to a request for comment.) Separately, a numbered company owned by Figliomeni allegedly paid CA$230,000 (US$216,000) to Cal-Wood Developments Inc. in late 2013, and another CA$100,000 (US$91,000) in April 2014.

OCCRP and the Toronto Star confirmed that the numbered companies referred to by the person close to the case each list Figliomeni as a director. Reporters have not been able to independently verify that the transfers occurred. The issue of whether cash transfers were made by Figliomeni or companies owned by him to Di Meo firms was not part of the criminal allegations against Figilomeni and has not been proven in court.

Property records show that Figliomeni and two others arrested as part of Project Sindacato — Sili and a former Royal Bank of Canada employee, Nicola Martino — bought and sold homes developed by Cal-Wood, each making a profit on their initial investment.